Gabbard introduces bill to protect military pay if government shuts down

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has introduced legislation to protect servicemembers and critical Defense Department employees if the government shuts down Oct. 1.

The Military Pay Protection Act (H.R. 3187) ensures that those who are serving in the Armed Forces, and critical civilians working to support our servicemembers, can still be paid for their work even if the federal government is shut down.

“A politically driven government shutdown hurts our economy, our hard-working families, and our military,” Gabbard said. “While the best outcome would be to work together to find a solution and avoid a damaging government shutdown that will hurt all of our federal employees, the Military Pay Protection Act is a first step toward ensuring our troops and their families do not become victims of this unnecessary shutdown. Those who are serving and sacrificing for our nation should not face uncertainty at home about whether they will be able to feed their families or pay their mortgage.”

In the event of a government shutdown, H.R. 3187 will guarantee uninterrupted funding for servicemembers’ pay; domestic National Guard disaster relief and recovery missions; and will allow paychecks to continue to critical civilian workers deployed in combat zones or doing jobs critical to supporting military operations.

In order to avoid a shutdown, Congress must find common ground on a temporary funding bill, also called a Continuing Resolution, before the current funding authority ends Sept. 30.

Gabbard voted against a damaging House-passed proposal last week and called for a solution that puts politics aside and gets our economy back on track. Senate leadership has indicated it will consider a funding bill that would not defund Obamacare.